One more step toward equality

No one should want to go to war, unless it is a choice of last resort. But if the need arises any able-bodied man or woman should have the privilege and opportunity to serve.

On Wednesday news came that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had accepted a Joint Chiefs of Staff recommendation that will officially allow women to serve in combat.

We use the word “officially” because, as casualty reports show, women have already found their way into combat zones — past and present.

As reported by The Associated Press: The necessities of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan ... propelled women into jobs as medics, military police and intelligence officers that were sometimes attached — but not formally assigned — to battalions. So while a woman couldn’t be assigned as an infantryman in a battalion going out on patrol, she could fly the helicopter supporting the unit, or move in to provide medical aid if troops were injured.

But the decision by Panetta and the Joint Chiefs is more than just a decision to move more women into combat roles. It opens the door to career advancement in a profession that values combat and leadership experience.

While the move toward equal rights for women has made great progress since the 19th Amendment gave them the right to vote in 1920, many a glass ceiling has stood in the way of advancement to positions of authority and power.

We see it to this day in the corporate world where the 2012 Fortune 500 is said to have made history with the greatest number of women at the helm in the listing’s tenure — 18 female CEOs, up from 12 in 2011. Such a number is embarrassing when the United States population is 51 percent female.

But the reason for such low numbers reflects the same kind of glass ceiling that has dissuaded women from joining the military and, when they do, from moving up the ranks.

Without front-line experience — corporate or military — women have not been afforded an equal opportunity to climb the executive ladder.

Make no mistake, Panetta’s announcement does not automatically clear the way, just as the voting rights amendment failed to level the political playing field. We still perceive a tinge of prejudice embedded in the words used to report his announcement.

Again, from the AP: The change won’t take place overnight: Service chiefs will have to develop plans for allowing women to seek the combat positions, a senior military official said. Some jobs may open as soon as this year, while assessments for others, such as special operations forces, may take longer. The services will have until January 2016 to make a case that some positions should remain closed to women.

Panetta’s announcement would have been much more satisfying had he said anyone of able body — man or women — will now be assigned duties based on their ability. Man or woman, if you are not strong enough to shoulder a weighty backpack and rifle, you don’t charge the enemy from the front lines. If you have the aptitude to pilot a bomber over a Middle East target, we don’t care about your sex.

But we all know the road to equality is a long one, with many a crater waiting to slow progress.

That said, Panetta’s announcement is still historic, but leaves us understanding that much needs to be done to shatter the last of a dwindling number of glass ceilings which deny women equal opportunity.